Wintertide
by Last.Laugh.Of.The.HyenWolf
Summary: Wintertide is a significant time of year for hedgehogs, Shadow doesn't know it. While there is the threat of a crisis looming over his head, Shadow thinks he's trying to find the missing link when really, he was finding himself all this time. This might not be what you expect, just give it a chance and no stupid coments plz.
1. The Missing Link

Prologue

The Missing Piece

Novermber

It's taken me a lot longer to get here than it should have really, but I'm here now at least. I'm standing in front of the residence of the renowned hero of Mobius. It's nothing impressive, just modest sized house that looks like one of those that you find in a small town. A brick country house with rough, thick paint work making it the palest of blue like a shining beacon on top of the coastal cliffs with slick, flint roof tiles, two chimneys and a vanished wooden door.

You would not expect the faker to live out so close to his greatest fears, whenever we had been in a brawl or a race for a lengthly and happened to be close to a sizeable body of water, he would be quite insistent about taking our contest to a different location. Because I'm on a cliff, I'm an a huge stretch of grass that goes on through most of the landscape, lining up with the cliffs edge and the wide sandy beaches. I walk up some stone steps that are the porch. Theres no fences or anything surrounding the house, even letters, a shiny red thing, was right next to the front door, as if there trying to get outsiders to go inside. I suppose that sounds just like them. There is a potted plant out here next to the porch steps that seems oddly familiar to me, but I can't place it for the life of me.

Considering how the pass few weeks have been for me, Someone would have probably screamed at me to come here at the very beginning of my investigation. When you're dealing with companions who would travel to the other side of the world on a daily basis, Finding them in there main abode in the middle of the day becomes improbable. This is more of a last resort or me. With that knowledge, being here right now is quite disconcerting.

There is still the chance that Miles will have remained here to work on a nameless project in his fabled laboratory. There is no way of seeing if anyone is home, there is no smoke from the chimneys or visible light source through the windows. I'm going to assume that they keep there planes in an underground hanger being as they is not hint of a runway where I'm standing and there isn't a clear indication as to how one would get to them. It may be that you can only access those places someway through the house, more questions that I don't want to have to answer. There is still one thing to confirm.

Beside the dark wooden door, there is a small white button, obviously a buzzer. I press it and a series of things take place. There is some muffled shuffling that is coming from deep within the house, accompanied by an inaudible callout that has acknowledged my presence at the front door. That is quickly followed by the sound of something being tumbled over, with a comically flustered fox kit. Then the patting of tennis shoes starts getting clearer on its approach to the door. Right on the other side there is the sounds of locks being unlocked and unfastened.

The door Opens by a skiver with a blue eye that inspects me briefly before it reveals the entire yellow furred body that I recognise well.

Thank Choas this wasn't a wasted effort.

"Shadow, I was expect you. How did find my house?" I can see him trying to hide the perplexity in his face.

"Fox" I look past him briefly, hoping to catch the sight of those familiar blue quills.

"Are you alone?"

"Yeah, Sonic is away right now so I'm holding down the fort for a while. Come on in!"

He retreats back inside, I follow closely behind. Thankfully he doesn't as me to take of my shoes off as I don't plan on staying long. Even though it is my first time in here, the seems quite narrow to me, the reasoning quite evident. There as well as along the corridor, there are devices as well as machine parts that are stacked along the walls, standing as tall as me. The interior seems as the house would suggest on the outside, a very traditional feel all around with the cream painted walls with some framed photos of Sonic Tails and their various encounters dotted about the walls. Some hanging lamps and wooden beams of the ceiling, oak laminated wood on the floor with the odd carpet here and there. There are some doorways on the sides of the corridors going to various rooms that you would traditionally fined in a home, I don't focus on it's content however as I'm more focused on following where the fox kit is leading me.

As we go deeper, the floor we are or seems the veer downward and this is the ground floor, meaning that they did expand down into the cliff. As we go on, we leave behind the painted walls and the typically homely feel for walls lined with cold metal panels and basic lighting sand wiring. This must be what he uses as a laboratory. At the end of the corridor, the floor levels out and expand into an actual room. It must by the size of the entire ground floor. In the very centre of the room there is a metal table with an unrecognisable object that seems to have not been completely assembled. Thats probably what the fox kit was working on before I arrived. On a far corner to the left, there is a desk with multiple monitors. All around the you see more of those piles of spare parts as well as boxes which I presume are nuts and bolts. There is the odd tool lying about as well as more incomplete machinery from vehicle engineering to weapons computers and some devices that I can't even name. The faker praises this kid's prowess of being a 'young genius' but if Gerald were alive to see the state of this, he would be appalled.

There are some stools on the either side of the table. Miles sits himself on the far side of the table and seamlessly fall back into the assembly of his small project. I take the opposite stool, facing him. The conversation seems to take off from there.

"So how can I help you today Shadow. Is there something you got that needs a quick fix?" He speaks casually, like I wasn't a disruption to his work in the first place. I did want sonic but maybe I can work at a different angle right now. Compared to sonic, the maturity this kit can show a long with the careful analysis he gives to a subject, I might get more beneficial information from him than from sonic.

"How much do you know about Eggmans recent attacks?" He doesn't miss a beat when he answers. Eyes still trained on his work.

"I know that he's hit up some of his old factories, mostly for radioactive substances, I also know that he got some of your warehouses pretty bad, G.U.N. must be seething." You have know Idea.

"Do you have any idea what it is that he is searching in these location?"

"Searching wouldn't be my word for it, It's more like he's gathering materials. With the rate that Eggman is going with these attacks, It's safe to say that he already knows what he is wanting to achieve, He just hasn't got the materials for it yet."

"Any Idea what 'it' might be?"

"Regrettably no, I haven't a clue as to what his end game is. I don't know what the stolen tech is or at least I don't know what it does and If I don't know what it does then I don't know what it's for. Obviously G.U.N. never lets any information about what it holds be public knowledge and as much as I would like to hack in their information bureau to find out, I don't want to risk it back firing against my brother with federal arrest. Actually now that i said that I hope that won't get me into trouble."

He says it was a humoured over tone, obviously trying to tenderise whilst sincerely asking me to not report him. Don't worry yourself fox, that's the least of my concern today. Still, this means that besides not knowing about any confidential information, the kit knows just about as much on this as we do. This is not reassuring in the latest, that probably means that sonic doesn't know a great deal either.

"I Suppose that hedgehog won't know anymore about the matter at hand."

"I wouldn't say so"

"How do you mean?"

"Well he's been really preoccupied with this matter as of late. I guess he's probably worried that this whole thing will turn into another rapture incident."

"Rapture incident?"

"It's a long story, don't worry about it." He pauses for a moment, looking a bit confused. "So is that all you want?"

"Not all but it will half to do, It seems I'm still going to need to find that hedgehog after."

"Find him."

"Yes, I have been instructed by my superiors to bring him back to Head Quarters for questioning about the matter, being as he is a witness, he is potentially the only person who knows Ivo's actual goal." The Fox's demeanour becomes stiff, I might have just lost his full corporation in this.

"Oh um, Sonic is going away for a little while, I'm sorry, you probably wasted quite a bit of time comi-"

"Do you know when he will returning."

"He might be back in March or April." That's nearly 4 months.

"What is the nature of his absence?" The mood of are exchange has changed drastically, I've gone from discussing matters with a individual close to my age to asking a child why there are cookies missing from their respective jar.

"I-It's a private matter." He's started to stutter and be more hesitant with his words, Is he lying? "It's that yearly thing you know."

He looks to me expectantly as if I knew what he meant.

"You do know right, every winter?"

"I'm afraid not Fox." At this point he seems to have lost interest in his work. His face then adopts a curious expression. "Do you get any time off work during wintertide?" Not quite sure of the relevance this holds but if it will get me answers.

"As the ultimate life for and most powerful asset under G.U.N's duristiction I have no need for such superfluous things. I hardly see the relevance."

"I guess you got more black arms in you than hedgehog." Miles lets the remark fly off of his tongue without thought. I know he meant nothing by it but even a brief mention of _that_ part of my heritage still rubs me the wrong way. He notices that my expression has hardened and tries to take it back. "Well that's to say-"

"I see" I managed to make the fox pause. He seems to become more unsure the more this conversation goes on. It's like he's wanting to be relieved by my words but he is second guessing himself "I going to have to bring the imbecile to me." I lift myself up to stand, giving the kit the visual sign that I was through with these games. The fox kit however starts to protest about this, like I'm about to take his favourite toy away.

"Look Shadow you gotta understand, Sonic just needs some space right now, besides it's foolish to travel so close to wintertide, even your going to have a hard time with this." The whole time he was talking, his eyes followed me as I round the table to his side. "I'm sure Sonic will help with whatever G.U.N. needs you two to do, you just gotta give time, I swear-"

"Miles!" I try and address him with assertion in my voice that won't cause the boy to retreat himself out of sudden panic. Without thinking about it consciously, I found myself kneeling on one knee, in real close range of the fox. This stools and the table are not all that table so it gives him the same stature as when his is stood, This makes our eye level uneven by only a few inches or so, with his above mine. As he realises this, he averts his vision like a child who has been count, I won't give him anymore room for excuses.

"I'm working on a deadline as it is. I'm sure your aware of Ivo Robotniks proactivity recently and although you and that blue quilled nuisance who you call a brother are assured that this development won't have dire consequence in the near future, the rest of the world is not. G.U.N. has ordered me to bring him back for questioning about the matter and they won't accept that I let have one of his escapades before he comes back to do his duty to the worl-" "It's not like that!" That was quite the outburst. He's really not going to budge unless if I appeal to him. Dam these brats, they always bring out the more pitiful side of me.

"We're not going to hurt him Miles, G.U.N. honestly just want to ask him some questions. As of right now, sonic may be the only one who can help us address the situation properly so that we can solve the issue." I still haven't convinced him fully yet. "If what he is doing right now is so important that he cannot return on the immediate then I'll help him. I'll help him with whatever it is that he is dealing with presently and when I bring to G.U.N. I'll make sure that no harm will come to him through the entire procedure, I'll bring him to you the same as when you last saw him." He eyes are to an invisible horizon as he ponders over my words before him finally looks me in the eye. "Do you really mean that?"

Sometimes, when I look into the eyes of children his age, I can see her… if not myself when I was that age. For the first time in many weeks, I can let a sincere smile accommodate itself on my face. "You have my word young kit."

As soon as those words leave my mouth, the kit stands up and b lines for a pile of boxes his far left. He starts remerging through several of them, Inspecting large pieces of paper and putting them back one by one until he returns to the table with one that satisfies his judgement. He puts it flat on the table after clearing it of the incomplete creation and odd bric-a-brac. He grabs a red marker the was on the table and starts putting in marks in a specific areas. It's a map.

"He's in the Great Forest." The fox finally say's.

I remember New Mobotropolis, an important location for Mobians involved in the great war. I'd be more accurate to call it a refuge for them. It is also considered the capital city of the Acorn kingdom, One of the few Mobian Kingdoms who are not influenced by human ruling. I also remember hearing that Sonic was involved quite closely with the crowned princess of the region, some would say romantically. Something in me wants to laugh at the thought of the pink hedgehog being vexed by this.

"Does he have business in New Mobotropolis? In a courtship with the princess perhaps?" He saw through my meaning.

"No, those two called it of a long time ago, too different paths in life you know. Anyway he's not there, it would me too crowded for him right now. The place where he is staying right now is close to Knothole, that was a small village where we stayed and grew up together along with the other freedom fights, Sally was there too but it's deserted right now so that probably the best place for you to camp at as your home base."

With the marker he points to another location he has marked on the map a little north east of the supposed Knothole. "You'll need to look for Sonic around this area, that's where he is staying." Thats in the middle of nowhere. It's not surprising of him but it seems a bit more out there for him.

"Winter is pretty harsh out there so to get there quickly and safely it best if you follow this route." On the map there is a squared point, which I'm assuming is our present location. Going north go it is a dotted root that seasons to go across the sea, and for a few 100 km too. I have no mode of transport and my Chaos Control won't carry me that far.

" How am I supposed to get across the ocean from here?"

"Come with me?" He Grabs the map off of the table and takes me through a door at the back of the Kit's work shop. We come to a set of stairs that lead downwards. We leave the metal panels behind as see more of the cliff's nature rock walls as we go down. I'm also surprise by the fact that there seems to be more natural light coming from bellow us and what I see really surpasses my expectations.

Turns out I was right, they did have a hanger under the cliff. The cliff entrance was open to the ocean beyond with no kind of door to seal up the place. There are platforms of multiple levels on either side of the hanger, connected by metal steps and walk ways between them. Some of them seem to have more of those piles that the fox is harbouring. In the centre of the hanger is an aisle that is wide enough for more than one air craft. The only plane to be seen here this room is the famous X tornado, It sits of the water like a Wipaire, sawing lazily to the motion of the see. I hear the Hedgehog mention that it's the foxes prized possession. Surely he isn't suggesting-

"Do you have any piloting experience Shadow?"

"I have been trained in piloting during my time with G.U.N. and I'm pretty adaptable when it comes to figuring out the controls of most planes."

"Alright good" He comes to me with some flight equipment. This consists of flight goggles, a fight hat and a parachute pack along with the map he has modified for me.

"I don't do this often but I trust that your responsible, as an agent that is. Plus when your going into Acorn territory, they can be a bit funny about outsiders that they don't know going in unannounced, When they see this plane, not even the air patrol will bother you so the journey should be straight forward." He's really pulling out all the stocks for me. "Thanks Tails." He smiles graciously.

For the next 3 hours, he sits me in the plane and explains to me the controls and functionality of the buttons. It's not too bad, a bit techy but I'll remember it no problem. After that he performs an inspection of the vehicles and turns the front towards the cliff's entrance with a chain that keeps the plane front drifting out of the hanger. Meanwhile, I take my time to study the map, wearing the equipment he gave me prior. This was being done till late in the night so we take break, whilst I left the fox have his rest for the night.

Then when the light of morning breams out of the horizon, It's finally time.

I sit myself in the pilots seat, preparing the plane for take off. I start the plane, The large propellor as well as the smaller propellors at the back of the floats starts spinning in the water, It's a soft gentle push being as the plane is still being held by the chain. At this point miles is on a suspending plat form in the middle of the hanger. He presses the button on a hand held remote device which cause the chain to release the plane. Now the plane starts moving forward. I see some small lights being emitted from underwater at the centre of the aisle, turning it into a runway, They seem to go to the out of the hanger as well.

Tails gives me a small salut before he starts beckoning me to move forward gentle with a pair of hand held orange beacons that shine in the early dawn. Finally the plane reaches the entrance and I apply A lot more force. After a few secs the plane starts to jet out onto the oceans. The wind wipe the plane mercilessly ,the salty winds invading my nostrils, The only sounds my ears can discern are roaring heart of an engine within this thing, the unrelenting gush of air resistance and the waves slapping the floats of the plane. At this time I'm sure that I've picked up enough speed. I pull the control leaver and the plane mounts up on my command.

I am Airborne.

for a while I only see the smearing of clouds across the sky slowly being lit aflame by the morning sun, being I level out the X Tornado towards its goal. Do this reminds me of the feeling I used to have before being the humans tool,

Being above everything,

Being the Ultimate.

But enough of that, I'll finally end this stupid goose chase and Find that blue fucker in The Great Forest.

 **Awake in Wintertide**


	2. In The Middle of No Man's

Chapter 1:

In The Middle Of No Man's.

Day:00

I can't believe this, of all things G.U.N. has me do for them. I barely see a day off in this job. Most people around this time of year would be having their holiday as humans are very enthusiastic about that fake religious excuse of a seasonal tradition called Christmas. And Mobians just use it to take advantage of their time off that doesn't count as annual leave. Most of the employees in the office have gone by now to revel in this fact. Even some of the field operatives are seeing some time away from missions.

And then you have me of course who gets no such privileges, being as my human/mobian rights were revoked from me the second I landed on this dirt pile, as quoted from command "a weapon has no need of trivial things such as a holiday".

If someone were to ask me what was considered a time off, it would involve a day of chaos recharge recuperation between each mission (the length of each mission varies from 2-5 months to potentially more than 2 years). If a mission was particularly hazardous then I would be in recovery up to a week, give or take with a severed limb. Any reports to file for each mission included in this time is irrelevant.

To them, the humans mostly, I'm just a work drone, even though I'm clearly smarted than one. I suppose that's their way of keeping a tight leech on me, no time to think, no time to get angry and no time to devise any sort of mutiny against them.

And so I find myself here, In the middle of nowhere on what is proving to be an aimless search. Thus far, this mission has taken me the entire month and I'm not even half way through and of course, it all revolves around that blue idiot.

Last month's reports came to us of warehouses that had been ransacked by robot mechs resembling egg-man's designs, there have been some sightings of his mecha's at some of his unused factories and G.U.N. remains clueless as to Ivo's Intensions, considering we've been attempting to psycho analyse a mad man's thought process.

Obviously, whenever Eggman is involved, Sonic will be on the scene, these two manage to keep up their encounters like an outdated sitcom. Because of this, Sonic is currently considered a Witness to the scientist's scheme being as he is always a very close step behind him when tracking him. Any hopes of finding the doctor ourselves have been utter failures seeing as he is being more elusive than usual, which is far from reassure. In the end, sonic is the only solution to this predicament.

And that right there is my brief, to locate said Blue pest and bring him in for questioning. This however has proven to more problematic than previously anticipated.

Sonic, you could easily compare him to a weed on your lawn. You could cut it, attempt to kill it or pull it out of the earth but no matter what you do, it would find its own way of reappearing on the lawn that is your life, whether you liked it or not.

And the thing that makes this most vexing, is that he has decided to go completely of the radar, which is the complete opposite of his usual behaviour.

Ironically this was the only time I would have ever wished for him to pop up like he usually would, and weeks later there is still no signs of him. I've been to various locations where he would've usually been sighted by the public or seen on his 'runs', I've even been to some of the places where he has challenged me to compete against him, still nothing.

I've had to resort to asking his friends and any of the acquaintance that he has made in his exploits, even they weren't sure. That only left me with only one possible lead, Miles Prower. In nearly a month's time, he was the only useful encounter I have had that has given a place to aim for. He even loaned me his plane. I suppose with winter he would have been grounded most of the time, even though it is a bit remote for him to be alone like that. What was that hedgehog thinking, leaving a minor to fend for his own, smart kit or not? That faker really pisses me off. At least the flight wasn't so bad.

In retrospect, the air travel was the easiest part. The X-tornado is quite a fine produce of engineering. Gerald would have been impressed. The unique transformation it encompasses from the standard Wipaire to jet fighter was all I could ask for. It managed to half my travel time quite nicely.

Miles was right about the air patrol. I did encounter a few planes with the same colours representing their nationality. A mixture of red and blue which I have also seen on their military's attire. On the tailgate, one can see clearly the golden insignia which stands for the Acorn Kingdoms bride. It makes them stick out like a sore thumb, I suppose it is to show the pride they carry for their country.

At first, they approach my plane, trying to discern the identity of the invader only to then stop abruptly; giving a salute before flying off. I imagine that if they knew my true identity, the tornado would have seen several bullet holes on its finish.

I do still get the odd look thanks to my vengeance campaign when I had successfully escaped prison Island, with good reason. This plain really is something god sent.

Some 30 odd minutes later, I'm flying over the Great Forest. It bears a sad look with the trees stripped of their foliage, making the scenery an ugly washed out brown.

The navigational system emits a light beep for an alarm as I approach the designated landing area. I switch back to default and circle the are below looking for an appropriate landing area. The trees are rooted very closely from one another, making the task of landing seem more than precarious.

Finally, I see a large clearing below, or a meadow. The ground looks to be evenly levelled, a good makeshift runway. I line up the air craft mid-air so that it gives me a good diagonal course for the landing. I point the nose downward and descend. The engine still gurgling away even as I lessen the G-force from its velocity. Eventually I don't need to point the nose down for it to lose the altitude, with the plane feeling heavier as it goes down. With the landing gear out, I make sure the point the nose up so the wheels have a better access to the ground. Now I eagerly await for the large tremor and…

.

.

.

Boom

All at once I can feel the roughness of the ground and here the tires roar as the craft barrels along the using up the last of its momentum. It bounces lightly on it's wheels with the odd squeal here and there before it rolls to the far tree line. It slows to a crawling pace very quickly. I direct it to a naturally formed shelter I spotted, formed by the trees that had their branches grown towards the meadow.

Alright

Phase one: infiltration complete.

I'm quick to sort through my belongings, which isn't much. The flight equipment goes under the pilot seat. In a standard G.U.N. backpack I have: the map, a compass, a G.U.N. Blanket, a tranquiliser gun & darts to use as a last resort, a palm sized unidentified package in brightly coloured wrapping paper with an elegantly tide ribbon and a hand held mini radio communicator. The backpack's design has been altered to accommodate to a hedgehog's spined back. This avoids the risk of it being torn.

The plane also has a large plastic sheet meant for covering the whole frame. I don't bother with it though. I expect to be back either this evening or tomorrow. The sky is overcast but nothing that foreshadows an impending snow storm.

After a brief walk, I find what remains of Knothole village, north from where I landed. The houses look to be built into the thick trunks of the trees themselves. There wasn't much that stood out to me as worthy of an impression. However, you can see some of the signs telling the history of this place. I remember when I consulted information about the history of Mobius, it was possible thanks to Rouge who on occasion would slip a file into my 'personal chambers' when I was resting between missions. It's good to be in the know about what I'd missed over the last 50 years or so.

There were mentions of Knothole being the place which had bred the freedom fighters when It was really just a refuge for orphaned children. This is where own of the thrones heirs, Princess Sally Acorn…

What a simple name for a royal.

This is where she was hiding and then became the rebel leader. It is also the first known sighting of Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles Powers Origins. To think they would start out as soldiers from so young and what makes it sad is that from my stand point, it's almost normal.

Something in me tells me that I should be feeling something, being as I am standing on what can be called a historical site.

I don't feel anything.

It's just a ghost of a place like any other abandoned or ravaged place.

With that thought, I quickly leave it behind and carry on as I had intended.

…..

The trees around me are bare and weary having lost their foliage to fall. The leaves were laid on the ground, browned by time and soiled by the mud.

I look up to the sky's above. The clouds are heavy in their labour, caring this winter's first snow. I didn't have long to play hide and seek with the faker. From what the fox had told me, the Great Forest becomes quite hazardous in the winter being as it is located so far north.

I despise the cold. I don't mind being cold the it's just a slight temperature drop. However, when I'm put in a situation where such temperatures are put to the extremes, it can flag up my limitation in some of the worst ways.

On a really bad day, the cold temperature would freeze up my blood and my joints. This causes me to become stiff in my movements. It also slows the blood flow in my circulation and my blood pressure starts to drop, making me anaemic. Another disadvantage is that I require oxygen for proper functionality. My cells are starved of the necessary element, the brains cells specifically, those cells become unable to continue their function and so eventually the body shuts down. I could change my body so that it can survive purely on Chaos energy, which would mean replacing oxygen, nutritional energy, even water, it turns me into a life-sized battery. This would help me greatly to deal with the extreme climate, if it weren't for that fact that my reserves would be depleted in seconds. When my body runs out of Chaos energy after this adjustment, the consequences are dire. I'm also unauthorised to have possession of a chaos emerald on my person unless if I am in a squad unite who has been ordered to extract it during a mission or when I am recharging back at HQ.

So, with that I prefer to use my reserves to create body heat that help to prevent all the symptoms of hyperthermia from setting in. Of course, there is always a chance that my chaos reserves will be run out as well, in other words I'm left with no choice than to accept what's happening. I'm able to draw chaos energy out of the surrounding environment and add that to my reserves, but it is not without its inconvenience. Recharging with a chaos emerald would take me no longer than 1 to two hours. To draw out without a catalyst and get a decent amount to work with would take me more than ten days to gather. Chaos energy is especially sparse in places with uninhabitable conditions.

Well now the truly unpleasant stages of my… death would start. The cold would take hold of my limbs, freezing them completely. Eventually the frozen tissue will be eaten away by decay. Along with the cells dying off due to lack of oxygen, I am literally falling apart, with the chances of survival being little to none. At this point I am beyond incapacitated.

G.U.N. of course has conjured a protocol for situations this perilous. During the beginning of my "integration" into G.U.N.'s programme, I was implanted with a device that measures the rate of my heartbeat. Scientists are put on the clock so they can monitor this 24/7. If my heart was to stop and this were prolonged more than an hour, the 'recovery' team would be deployed. As the name suggests, they are solely tasked to "recover" my remains onsite and they have come to hate me for it. When I am delivered back at HQ, I am put in recover where the surviving cells will regenerate the rest of my body. I'm usually unconscious during this process though I am told of various things, like when I was a vegetable, When I have been in the state of a brain damaged retard or when I had yet to regain control of my body, which has spasms worse than a victim with Parkinson's disease.

Thankfully I don't live days like yours very often. When I do though, it's more than inconvenient, my superiors make sure to let me know this each time it happens.

Getting back on track, now that I think about it, why would the faker be traveling so far out here. There is nothing here. I would imagine that he'd want to be in a place with conditions that are ideal for his 'active' lifestyle. When the snow finally settles in this region, it will be far from that. Then there is the fact that he is a full mobian, which makes him more vulnerable to the climate then I am.

I've been walking through the woods for most of the day. I should have covered a good amount of distance by now. The map that Miles gave me gave precise coordinates of where I will supposedly find the hedgehog.

It better be dam well worth it because at stage of my search I'm finding nothing of significance out here. There's no Goliathan fortress that has been isolated from existence itself. There is no Colossal battle that holds the fate of life on earth anywhere in the vicinity. No absurd phenomena that will cause you to question reality and ethics that have been with you throughout your entire life. No destressed pink stalker, no looming presence, dare I even say not even a conveniently placed chilly dog stand. It's just more of these fucking trees.

There's so many of them and they are so tall that they nearly obscure the sky from my view with their dark earthly tendrils. The landscape of this place never changes, the ground may bob up and down occasionally from its original level but that's it. I do realise that this place is called the Great Forest, with my power being so low that I can't use my jet boots, It makes the travel stretch to a excruciating pace.

Looking ahead though, I find that I may have spoken too soon. I can see more light seeping through the trees, or Would it be more accurate to say that the density of the trees in the woodland is quickly becoming significantly less where I am. There seems to be a border where the line of trees comes to a standstill, they don't stop completely, they just become sparser. Coming to the edge of the forest, I can see the land descending to a river that rushes across the way before it climbs a hill on the opposing side that probably stretches on to as part of the woodland for another 100 or so kilometres.

I've come across a valley, and a sizeable on at that. The river is quite fast and travels unevenly down below, meandering around the hills. It means that it's not cold enough to snow yet, but that could change. Looking at the map, this does line up with where Miles said for me to go. This valley means nothing though. As unique as this place is compared to the rest of what I've seen in this forest. There is nothing out of place or exceptional about it. Nothing telling me that I should expect to see any for of civilisation here. Did the fox lie to me, send me on a false errand? He doesn't seem the type but who knows. Maybe I'm too far off. He could be in the capital New Mobotropolis as I suspected, taking part in the council or some other appointment with the Royals.

Eurgh, this is just too frustrating now. A whole month of not finding the personified petulance of my life. I'll have nothing to show for this mission. Next mission I'll likely be left for dead as an unspoken discipline.

My eyes are frantic, traveling in all directions within my circumference.

Give me something, anything for fucks sake.

Then, something finally gives itself to me.

To the right of where I'm standing, tucked within the ground on the hills descent is something promising. Coming closer to it, it looks like a mound of some kind. It looked completely natural like it was part of the forest floor, except for its shape, which made it a little too well rounded like a dome. It also appeared to be coming out of a crater that was on the side of the hill, at least twice as big as the mound. I down into the crater where the leaves have failed to reach the centre, make for some sludgy terrain, Lovely.

My trained eyes can see some foot prints in the mud. Some were trampled by fresh prints and going in directions towards and away from the mound. They don't resemble the sneaker prints of the blur's iconic shoes, which I've had the unwanted privilege of familiarising myself with when the faker managed to land a successful blow. I'm far from wanting to celebrating at this fact.

I look to the mound I'm facing, which is gigantic now that I'm seeing it from inside the crater. Also, It's hollow, potentially making this mound a den. I would have completely missed that at first as I was seeing from behind. This warrants an inspection, that should bear fruit to some answers at that.

I go inside, a little hasty in my stride. Not far from the entrance I find a door, that is far from being natural. It's metaling, and it looks like it's meant to be a thick, impenetrable barrier for whoever is to remain inside, except that it's been left open. Careless of whoever it is who stay here, with how things stand with the weather at present.

This is the opportunity I've been waiting for.

I pushed the door afar, gently while being gentle with my steps, someone could still be here and it would be troublesome to deal with somebody who is completely startled by a stranger's intrusion. Still, it must be done. I make myself known with a few questions.

"Hello….? Anyone here….? I'm coming inside."

Each time I'm only greeted by the air. The smell of this place Is a little musky. there is also the faint small of food, something that incorporates processed tomatoes. This… shelter of its kind is being occupied by someone but the resident is absent, meaning I can look with no interruptions. I imagine this place must expand a little into the ground as the interior feels quite spacious in comparison to what the den's exterior was. This inside wasn't a cold metal like the door was, instead it was very much like the walls inside the faker's house, though the walls are lined with the shape of the den rather than being straight.

. It looks like a lounging around with a kitchen around compacted together. Some books shelved on the side. Utensils tucked in any small space that can accommodate them om a tight fit. There are also hundreds of cans of food shelved away to the sides as well as a fridge. This begs the question as to how this place would get electricity as it is in a location that is a little more than rural. There are only to other does in the vicinity. The smell becomes absolutely foil on approach, I have a pretty good idea where that leads too. I go through the other which takes up a bit of the right side. This door was kept shut, its wooden in contrast to the front and 'lavatory' door.

A quite glance inside indicates that it is a sleeping quarters. There is a large bed to the far back wall of the room where the bedding has been disturbed. There is a nightstand with a lamp and a book on it and that's all there to this room. This room has retained it's warmth and the musky smell is stronger here, and very familiar too. Though it is dark, my sight is unparalleled when looking at things in the dark. In a far corner of the room, I see the unmistakable pair of red sneakers with their trade mark white stripes and uncanny golden buckle.

Bingo

The Fox came through for me after all. This was where the faker was staying. Judging from the food supplies I saw, he was planning on staying here for a long duration.

Why?

But presently more important, where was he right now?

I was so close the completing the mission now, I've practically found him but He still manages to evade me. No matter, He will return here eventually, this is clearly his base camp. I go to sit on the couch in the sitting area, which seems to come out of the wall and take a breather. It feels like a month's weight of stress has just torn itself from my back. I can also feel the efforts of the search accumulating, confirming how tired I feel.

It would be easier to just wait here for the faker to make his appearance. However, I'm impatient after this whole ordeal and I just want to see him to HQ and get this thing over with. I won't even give him a chance to fight his way out of my grasp. I know I told the fox that I would help his brother with whatever it was that he was doing here but I'm can't see the point of this right now. There is nothing here to speak of. If anything, he's been making sure to stretch this search for me as much as possible, I wouldn't put it passed him either.

With this new vigour, I take myself to the front door and scan over the foot prints were. There are a lot of them, indicating that the hedgehog has been coming and going from this location quite a lot. However, there are some more prominent boot tracks that lead away from the den shelter and into the forest on an uphill path.

Well, I know where I'm going now. If I do happen to miss him on the way, I can always come back. I didn't exactly play it sneaky by tracking mud into the shelter.

Oh well, he'll know what to expect.

I follow the path set by the prints. The retrain is soft with tender mud and leaves, he wouldn't dream of run off anywhere, which works out for me even more. After Going up the hill to go back into the dense woodland, I find myself walking for a half hour or so. I'm following along a path of soil and leaves that seem to have been disturbed recently. It's not long before I start to hear sounds ahead of me. This time of year, small critters will have either migrated or secluded themselves from the weather.

While I was traveling from Knothole, there was a deathly silence during the entire walk. I didn't expect to hear anything, meaning that someone was ahead of me.

I wonder who.

The noises I hear sound like the branches on the trees are being broken from their hosts, thick branches at that. Whatever for?

I come to a small clearing. To my left, I see a pile of large branches slowly being formed. Sorting through those is a blue Mobian hedgehog. They are graced with a beige muzzle and head quills arranged in a familiar fashion. The only glaring differences from his usual appearance is the excessively large fern coloured coat along with the white scarf wrapped around his neck. There's also the boots which seem to match the prints I have been following as I can see the sols from where I'm standing.

Is it really that cold here? Winter must be nearer then I thought.

"I used to think that you, being in my constant presence was what made you the nuisance"

The Hedgehog in front of me flinches. They were too caught up in what they were doing to be aware of my arrival. A flick of his hears them him to look behind he. When he turns his head in my direction, I see a pair of familiar green eyes look in my directions, I finally found him.

"Oh, hey shads! I didn't think you came here this far north."

He tries to fain his shock of my appearance. He really was trying to hideaway all this time.

"I assure you that it is not out of choice hedgehog."

I approach him, surprised that he is not attempting to run away. Now that I look at him, he seems a bit… worn. His stature is slumped forward and not just because he is attempting to break the wood with her feet. His whole demeanour seems dimmed compared to his usual sparked personality. In fact, as I get near him, his posture stiffens a bit. He's anxious at my presence.

"So, what brings ya? Trying to find that dam forth chaos emerald?"

Not today Hedgehog, not today.

"I've been looking for you all month now, and I think you know why."

"I'm not sure what you mean bud." He's quickly adopted a sheepish attitude to this. I'm not letting you get away faker.

"I'm sure you do faker, G.U.N. has sent you notifications requesting your presence at Head Quarters. Currently You stand as the sole witness to Ivo's latest assaults on government property who may know of his intentions. I have been instructed to bring you in for interrogation. I advise you not give me any problems this time hedgehog."

He turns his attention to his work with the 'wood cutting', averting his eyes from me. Is he trying to blow me off?

"I'm kinda busy with some stuff Shads, can you maybe talk to them about rearranging or something?"

"So, I'm to understand that you're refusing to cooperate with a federal officer right now?"

"Look Shads, now is really not a good time, I promise I will tell them everything they need to know. Eggman won't be ready by the time spring comes so you don't need to worry ab-"

"Hedgehog, four fucking weeks. It took four fucking weeks for me to track your ass down. All this just for a few simple questions, which would help to do the job that your supposed to be doing. I don't know what it is that's got you being so difficult for the past month, which as far as I can tell has been you sitting on your ass this entire time during what will inevitably be another crisis. Now put those legs to good use and get us pack to knothole so that we can get the fuck out of this place."

Somewhere in between the small struggle of tug-of-war we created, the faker was losing his demeanour as the words 'No, Shadow, I really can't do this right now'. In this scenario, those words managed to work as a series of triggers that propelled the rage I was barely containing at a high velocity out of my mouth. Any living thing within a 30-kilometre radius would have felt it in my next words.

"AND WHY THE HELL NOT?"

We were both frozen in the moment, Sonic in discomfort in contrast to my fury. His expression looks a more pensive that I'd expect as a response to my outburst, as if he was working his way through an internal debate. He then starts to unfasten the buttons of his large coat with his head bowed in unease. I feel another bout of rage surging to become more expressive angry until I see it.

Oh…. OH! Wait What?

I mean, what am I looking at right now?

I quickly realise that the large frame he bore on his coat wasn't entirely at fault. With the edges of his coat spread apart, it revealed that the hedgehog and somehow earned a noticeable pot belly. It stuck out quick a bit from his usual frame, not perfectly rounded but the fat seemed to settle itself across his waist line. Thinking about it now his legs do seem to be a bit on the thick side, maybe by an inch or two.

Now I'm the one wearing the shocked, pensive look on my face as I'm probing through my brain for anything that could have led to what I'm seeing and why would it cause the faker to Isolate himself. There's nothing that comes to mind in the immediate, unless…

"Is it a tumour?"

"Oh no, I don't have cancer or anything. It's not that serious."

This was really puzzling, what on earth could this mean-

I feel strangely uncomfortable with myself when I voice my next assumption.

"Was I correct in assuming that you are a male hedgehog?" He catches on quickly to where I'm going with this as his face adorns an offended expression.

"I'm not pregnant Shads."

"Still, just so we're clear your definitely … Or is it that you identify yourself as-"

"I am a man Shads, so I'm pretty sure that crushes any chances of me getting knocked-up!"

"Alright, alright! Settle down, good grief." I start subconsciously pacing in place.

Oh, good god I give up.

"So, what am I not seeing here, What's the issue?"

"Well It's going to be hard for me to run like this. I can't really reach my top spe-"

"I can see that. What I mean is why have I had to chase you down for an entire month? Why the sudden disappearance of the face of the earth and more importantly, why are you all the way out here evading G.U.N.?"

"Look Shads, It's that time of the year for me right now." Although exasperated from our exchange thus far, he says it with such ease, like it's meant to be common sense. When he looks at me, he is confused by my face, realising that we apparently not speaking the same language in terms of things that make sense to use.

"Wait, don't you hibernate in winter." Was this really what this whole thing was about. A month of searching just for this.

"Isn't that a little primitive for mobians."

"Well it is necessary thing for us hedgehogs and some other species of mobians. My family and I would always do it when I was a small. As a fellow hedgehog, I would have fought that G.U.N. would give you a break for that in the winter."

Please.

"Unlike your inferior kind, I don't require such crude methods of methods of survival. Such a thing is a telling sign that you mobians have not have yet to successfully evolve from your bestial existence."

"Hey, you don't have to be so stingy about it. It's actually a holiday tradition and it's really important for mobian culture and for our, so no disrespect pal. "

"Hold on, if what you're saying is true, I've seen you contradict that statement quite often." Some of those occasions being when Rouge has 'invited' me to a Christmas gathering orchestrated by Faker and his allies, just for her own gain, involving the red echidna, what was his name? "Hell, I've even seen you in Holoska of all places." What'd you have to say to that?

"Yeah well, I know Christmas is becoming a big thing on Mobius so I try to take part in the festivities you know. Some of the other times it couldn't be helped because old Eggy Launched some vicious attack around that time, trying to take us out while we were all together, so that couldn't be helped. I've been doing this for 3 winters in row now and I'm at my limit."

Looking at him now, the energy he always carried with him is dimmed, a stark contrast to the spark in his personality. There is a slight slump in his posture, his eyes are puffy with exhaustion, blood-shot even. His quills are a little pale and unkept compared to the sleek look he usually sports. He was an absolute wreck.

He doesn't even display his usual witty humour in the time with spent in this discussion. In fact, as diplomatic as he has been in all this, even I can't mistake the auro he gives off, demanding that I vacate from his business immediately. It's almost unnerving.

I do remember that at a Christmas party a few years party, Sonic ended up not being seen for an entire week although he was supposedly still on the premises. I didn't think much of it as I was busy being overwhelmed by the pressure of having to endure an uncomfortable social situation for more than a week's time.

The Faker is far from being my favoured company. By federal law he is considered a vigilante, however his input does minimise the damage cause by Ivor Robotnik or any other disaster greatly. He even manages to keep the casualty count to nil, save for that one occasion with the flooding in station square. Still If hibernation is such a necessity to mobians rather than a quirk of their heritage and he ends being chronically sick or worse…

"How long does this hibernation last for you?"

"Well I usually sleep for 1 or 2 months, being as I haven't gotten the chance to for three years, I might need to rest until April or march to get my energy. I do wake up in between like once every few weeks but nowhere near running or fighting condition."

It's just like what Miles told me back in the mystic ruins.

"Then it's better if we go to station square now, we can arrange with them appointments for them to interview you and make it flexible your hibernating. It's not as cold over there so it would be a lot safer for your sleep then this no-man's land. Tail's lent me his X Tornado, it's back at knothole so we can just take a straight root from there"

"Not likely, I can't run as well as I usual do like this. Since we both don't have a chaos emerald with us, it will a day's travel to get there and I'll have used up all the bulk I've stored up for this winter, which at this point can't happen. It's gonna snow anytime from now and don't get me started about trying to flying through a blizzard that's gonna continue long passed the mystic ruins. That and it's pretty dark anyway.

I follow his line of sight to the sky, I hadn't realised how late it was. The sky has become significantly darker, I estimate that the sun will set in an hour's time, the temperature will drop significantly, assuring that the clouds will let down winter's first snow.

Dam it, he's right.

"Well the guys at your workplace should know about this." That's undoubtedly the most frivolous way anyone has ever referred to my colleagues at G.U.N. Wait why would they know, they sent me to find him without a word of this.

"Oh! You weren't there at the time. I came to you guys at your work last month, Rouge was the only one I saw. I came to give you guys your Christmas presents early since I was going to be here. She said you couldn't make it because you were unavailable. "

Couldn't be further from the truth. Another nice little rule G.U.N. has in place to keep me in line is that went I'm not operating on the field, I am to remain in my 'room' at all times until instructed otherwise. I'm not aloud allowed visitors, not that I would have any. Any location I attend when on mission, must be relevant to the mission. Rouge always helps me to break those rules, being as she counts as my supervisor when on missions. She is easy to work with, she's competent in with her work and thankfully is not an arrogant, snobbish character like unlike the high command. I've learned we share some things in common when it comes to being criminals put to work under the governments boot just to avoid a life behind bars, well half of us. At the end of the day, even If this wasn't the case, I honestly couldn't care less about what the faker had to say that day.

"You better have been good and not opened it early, Santa won't be happy with you if you did. He'll probably end up thinking that you wanted coal to match your fur."

Still, the situation at present is quite bothersome. With the way that the weather is presented right now, the trip back to HQ will be a lot more hazardous than I'm prepared for. I'm dealing with two timed bombs between the time it takes for Ivo to bring his ploy to fruition whilst there's the blue twerp who is useless until he's rested from his three-yearlong jetlag. We're too far from civilization or transport, in the middle of what is soon to become the Ice age.

I'm going to have to call Command to sort this out. It's only one of my least favourite things to do. It's one thing to just receive the treatment of a dog, but to have your superiors constantly remind you of this fact and demean and degrade you publicly when in the company of officials of a similar status is another thing. Some might say that I'm receiving my due punishment for my actions back when I couldn't control my anger in my quest for retribution against G.U.N. When I put these worms in their place, I do it because I can and whoever is idiotic enough to face me, will learn otherwise. They do it because they are the equivalent of little rich brats, who have yet to feel the belt on their pompous asses.

I take of my backpack and reach for my communicator.

"How are communications in this region?"

"Good luck, this place is really far out the way, the closed telephone pole is long past knothole from here. The poles attraction mess up the signals with communications here, I guess"

"The what?"

"I'm just remembering it from when tells explained it, alright? Basically, it's crap. There is a spot on the highest hill in this valley where you can get through alright, to the signal is a bit scrambled but it's never failed for me when I try it. Anyway, before you do that how about you help me get this stuff back to the…"

With what remained of my chaos reserves, shot off purposefully to the proposed locate with the push of G-force born from chaos. All without being able to appreciate the vexed sign form the hero when he realised that I had already left. I was nought to over 100 mph in 0.01, The landscape blended into a great smear, though my eyes can still perceive the objects to evade, even as vividly as their materialisation into my field of vision are. It's not long before I skid up the fore mentioned hill with my intent.

With the communicator in one hand, it's time to test this theory. On this communicator, there are a few simple dials on this device. There's one button on the side of the mini radio, serving as a switch between communications coming in and going out. A toggle knob that determines the frequency used for the call and lastly, a simple off switch.

I press the of switch and an audible scrambling of white noise is emitted from the speaker. I expected that out here. I twist the dial with my fingers in a clockwise motion, listening to how the raw static spikes aggressively at different points of frequency. I'm far from grasping at the air, believe it or not. I'm looking for something specific. When field operatives look to contact Command, their frequency will have a distinct soft monotonous beep on the line. This is a useful indicator of him your equipment being operable. If a field agent found themselves in a dire situation, this serves as a failsafe when requesting for back up. I keep listening out for that beacon of hope whilst feeling quite anxious about the discussion ahead.

It's just static, and more disruption and then… wait, did I just pass it.

I eventually manage to get the beeping sounding at its loudest on the radio, although the sound is a little fractured thanks to the interference but it's there at least. I push don't of the mic toggle and try to push my voice through the harsh winds.

"Project Shadow to Operative, requesting override of communications to Command with urgent report concerning case DE20305ab. Do you receive? Over." I repeat myself one last time, making sure to be coherent, even as the wind assaults me form any spontaneous angle. I can barely make out the response that comes through as an artificial female voice.

"Field Operative confirmed as Biological Weapon, Project: Shadow. Your request has been approved. Transferring you to Command." It's nice to see that the case I have been given seems to priorities over the others, giving me the privilege of talking to command without dealing with protocol technicalities.

For a second or to I listen to what comes on the line as a long dial tone before I hear a nameless ambient noise accompanied by familiar aged voice of a male.

"Commander Tower receives you Project Shadow. What have you to report?" It's nice to not be in his presence as I inwardly cringe to the tone he takes with me, like a dog that has disappointed his master. Abraham Towers, the head commander of the Organization of the Guardians of the United Nations. He is different from the other snooty officials who occupy some of the highest positions in G.U.N. They sneer me as spoiled children would to a toy or a slave. Towers regards me with pure hatred. I honestly don't blame him for it.

He's had a presence in my life for quite some time, even back on the ark. He was much younger back then, a small shy thing. Back when she was alive, we used to encourage him in our childish games, as if there were no impending changes that threatened to destroy our happiness. His parent or parents likely used to be researchers that worked alongside Gerald. This also made him a candidate for being Maria's human companion, until she had grown attached to. Decades after the arc incident, I found out that he had also survived, we were the only two that had come out alive. I was almost happy, finding someone who I can have a common understanding. I admired him even more when I found out what he has been doing for the past 50 years.

Despite his trauma from the ark, he faced the perpetrators by joining G.U.N. and rose to assume command over the entire organization, gaining an iron fist and a soul of ice. With this he has acted as a deterrent to the growing corruption within G.U.N. Some would find this arrogant if they didn't know the full story. Unfortunately, that friendship was never to be and that's understandable. I was the reason for the death his parent's and those he had grown familiar with over the course of many years within the confines of the space station. All we between us a mutual tolerance between each other's existence.

"I've made contact with the target." I say immediately, Abraham is known for his lack of patience, I've already pushed that by a whole month.

"It has taken you a lot longer to track him compared to how you have done in the past, I hope you're not making this a personal execution." And he's not going to let that go for a while, is he?

"No Sir, the target had isolated himself from my reach for a while, I was finally able to locate today Commander Sir" Just for today, please.

"Is that the engineered life form I've been hearing so much about?"

Now there's a voice I don't recognize. The clarity of the audio surprises me due to the conditions that I'm dealing with on my end and thinking of how officials in a conference room. I suppose with the loaming the threat of a potential global disaster, G.U.N. would be holding a more meetings concerning the matter.

Towers answers without delay.

"Yes, he is the main arsenal of operations, made to deal purely with tasks which are unfit for standard employees. It seems he's found some difficulty with this recent assignment."

"He seems quite smart for a fabricated organism." Judging from his strong accent, He must be a foreign ambassador who's part of the G.U.N. alliance. And a pig like the rest.

This time Tower, rather than taking that conversation forward, he addresses me.

"Project Shadow, you are to return to Head Quarters with the target in your custody, ready for interrogation."

I almost stutter when I respond.

"There… are some complications." In my mind, I can see Towers' head whip round to the desk communicator he's using with a bewildered look on his face, never a positive sign. For a brief time, I can just make out the circulation of murmurs among the ambassadors before being silenced.

"… Please elaborate."

It sounds as if he had difficulty getting those words out past his building rage.

"…I'm presently located in the great forest within the Acorn Kingdom, in the region connecting to the northern forest. The climate is changing rapidly in this region, there's a snow storm that's going to hit within the next hour. It will be near impossible as well as too hazardous to attempt air travel. The only mode of transport in my possession is a biplane procured from one of the target's allies. The only alternate route is via the border of land connecting through the southern band connecting to the Overlander territories. There is no civilization for the 200 kilometres south of my location, meaning that we won't have transport to get us to G.U.N. for the next week in estimate. As it stands, it is also apparent that the target is unfit for travel. "

As I keep talking I realise how big I've made this list of things gone wrong on what was meant to be a simple escort mission. This was only adding to the Commanders displeasure. None of us could predict this could become so problematic.

"Are you meaning to say that he is incapacitated in some way? Has he been injured?"

"Negative, he is of… reasonably good health. He is still however unable to travel. He is also insistent on remaining here until winter has passed, which here is up to four months of so."

"And what reason is he doing this?"

"If I may Commander…"

A new voice emerges into discussion. It's sounds to be of a similar age to the other voices and more tentative ten those that I've heard so for. It must be one of the subordinates. Maybe one of G.U.N. onsite researchers. If I'm not mistaken, it's the top scientist of this organisation and his field, Dr. Julian Snively. During the conference of the United Nations, Snively is there to walk the ambassadors thought what the scientists has surmised to be Robotnik's intentions. Who better receive that honour than someone with past affiliations to the Robotnik name.

It can be said that other than their questionable methods of conduct under the world's nose, G.U.N. has a habit of employing felons into their as a way of keeping them under close surveillance. A form of house arrest if you will. It is said that Snively used to be a Robotnik himself, He served under his uncle, Julian Robotnik: a dictator who was the cause of the great war and the further divide between mobians and humans. In failing his attempt to betray his uncle to that the role of ruler in Julien's empire, he found himself disowned by him and forced to flee. He begged for the G.U.N.'s protection in exchange for his knowledge in robotics, which could even compete with Ivo's. He even went as far as changing his name for security reasons. As good as it would be to rekindle with somebody of the Robotnik family, I never really knew how to feel about, not that I've seen him often enough to tell. When I was around him though, there was something off about him. If you let your guard down, he would do something that one was prepared for.

He continues to give his hypothesis.

"I believe that sonic is preparing for his hibernation. It's quite normal for mobian hedgehogs to do this every winter, it's become somewhat a tradition for them, it's quite a necessary practice for them. I believe all our hedgehog staff our currently on leave for this very reason.

Much like their predecessors, Mobian hedgehogs will prepare for hibernation by increasing their body fat to near obese levels as they lose at least half of that fat in their hibernation sleep. This would explain why he would be unable to apply his usual speed. At this time sonic will be quite vulnerable as his body is preparing for this long sleep. To travel or to even attempt to move him during this process is ill adviced… I thought this was common knowledge. "

There seems to be a collective whoa among the ambassadors over the new information, it did nothing to settle the uneasiness felt over it's significance, even more so for Towers than anyone else.

"How long is the duration of their hibernation?"

"Usually mobians will hibernate up to two months or so. It depends on the mobian I suppose."

I knew that what I was about say next was going to be the lit match to the Commanders already shortening fuse but the words were already traveling through the com.

"The hedgehog also mentioned that he hadn't been able to hibernate in the last three years due to incidents caused by Eggman. I believe when I saw him, he was demonstrating symptoms of extreme fatigue. He even admitted that he had reached his limit and has been struggling through the entire year."

"He does seem to have become more sluggish in his prowess over the course of the year. It's a shame really."

"In other words, he must be experiencing a form of jet lag from being not having been able to hibernate for so long. Hedgehogs' bodies are dependent on this process as a sort of refresher so that they are able to function properly through the rest of the year. Thus, it is imperative that he gets a proper chance for hibernation or else he may not survive for the rest of the year."

"Then wouldn't be best to bring him to our headquarters as soon as possible, surely this is safer than where they are located at present which is going to become an Ice trap."

"I would not recommend it. At this time, Sonic is too vulnerable for travel. I'm sure that where ever he is right now, he has prepared his hibernation shelter to deal with the harsh winter conditions. Our main base may be satisfactory from human perspective but hedgehogs have very specific conditions that need to be met. If it is not done correctly, the consequences could be fatal."

"It would be unfavourable for a public icon to die within G.U.N.'s main province by such coincidental circumstances."

"The public is wary of G.U.N. as it is even without the media persisting on G.U.N.s' past indiscretions"

The hall being used for the conference had turned into disarray. I could hear similar comments coming out of the communicator quite passionately. All of them trying to supersede each other with they're disapproval over a matter that is already straining for all parties and the nations they represent.

"Towers, I hope that you're aware that the Union has no need for such scandals when we are already dealing with the present issue of a renegade mad man who _you_ have failed to bring into custody."

Abraham must be truly embarrassed at this stage, which I know is going to bite me in the ass later as I'm the one who could have prevented this; if only I knew more about the heritage of the other side of my seen pool.

He still hasn't even raised his voice yet, which is what this situation merits, but no. Even as the argument among the guess parties persists I never hear his voice come through once. It's as if he's mulling over the information that was brought to him on such short notice, trying to find a window that leads to a solution. Finally, the typhoon of umbrage from the ambassadors settles, likely being ceased by the Commanders wordless commands before he addresses me one last time.

"Project Shadow, I am changing your assignment. You are still being intrusted with case DE20305ab. This is no longer an escort mission. You are to remain by Sonic the Hedgehog's side until climate over there becomes less of an issue. Your objective will be to extract the information relating to Eggman's recent attacks from the target during his waking spells and report your findings to me immediately. I will be waiting by the receiver for you progress.

This also means that you are to remain Sonic's side and assure his survival. Depending on the reliability of the information you gather will determine whether the target will need to be brought in for further questioning. Will your Chaos reserves sustain you till then?"

Sadly, I can't mistake this enquiry for empathy.

"If I keep my activity to a minimal then I won't encounter any problems"

"Alright then you hold your position with the target until then, understood."

"Affirmative, Mission will be carried out as planned"

"Alright, Your dismissed."

"Yes sir, Project Shadow out"

With that I turn of the radio, ending the avoided disaster.

Well.

That went better than expected.

Snively came through for me it seems, I won't hope for it again though.

Still, I'm irked at the thought of spending three whole months with the faker. Hi, being asleep might make him a little less of a nuisance, I say that wishfully of course. The fought of being in another isolated capsule that long does not excite me either. It may not same as the confinement in G.U.N.s' version of the ominous basement but at least I'd become accustomed to it.

Better than going back a failure and making up for it by being the test dummy for when scientists are feeling creative.

With that and the Chaos energy I can spare, I propel myself to find the shelter I had found earlier with the velocity provided by my jet boost. As I'm rocketing through the forest, I feel a chill, so cold it slices right through my nerves. I manage to subdue the shiver in my skin. I also notice the damp specs that fall into my trajectory, moistening my fur slightly.

It's already begone

As I expected, I see the rodent at the side of the shelter, with a foil look on his face and somehow more tired than before. He's sorting through the bundles of wood that he's collected when I stop next to him.

"So d'you do what you wanted to do?"

"Yes, I was successful in getting in touch with command, I have been instructed to remain with you until the snow clears from the area."

"Mmhmm, oh and thanks for the help by the way." He was of course referring to the bundles of wood that I let him... take care of.

I didn't feel the need to respond. Instead I watched as he put the wood into a camouflaged container hastily and then bring down the lid on it. He then took the last bundle with one hand and then dragged it to the inside of the den with a slight stagger to his stride. He really was at his limit. Once inside I see him dump the bundle to the side and the he proceeds to strip from his layers. It starts with him kicking off his boots with no aim, then he lets his coat, his scarf, a brown cardigan that was concealed underneath and his gloves. As this happens I see the extent of his dieting for his hibernation. The thin v form that he had keep during the time I have known him has grown into a bloated sac like figure couple with thickened arms and legs.

Some things whether with strangers or people you know that you just don't need to see.

As soon as that happened, he had retreated himself through the door that I'd determined to be his sleeping chamber. From the soft thud muffled by the door and the silence that followed I determined that that was the end of it. A little anti-climactic but I'll take it.

Being the offending party with my intrusion on his affairs, I decided that I should bring organise this mess that the faker has so kindly left for me. I hang up the discarded clothing on a rack that I was able to locate through the obscured interior. I put his boots and mine next to the metal door. I won't need to use them here so it's alright. I then go to the fire place and put some of the collected wood to build a fire. This will help me save on my Chaos reserves instead of trying to keep my blood warm with chaos energy, it will also help keep the hedgehog alive.

Once that is done, go lay myself on the only available couch in this room. I put down my backpack and feel for the blanket inside before I pull it out and wrap it around my body. I lay back and look out the only window to the outside world, watching as the blizzard slowly consumes the forest as the tide of winter spreads over the landscape.

This was going to be a long winter.

End of Chapter one.

Deleted Scene:

This was really puzzling, what on earth could this mean-

Before I could register my own actions, a winded gasp was heard as my fist collided with his gut with brute force. His arms where hugging his abdomen protectively while he adopted an upright foetal position, whizzing out some pained groans.

"There was a time when you confronted me about my old ways which have proved to contradict Maria's wishes. And so, as your respective rival, I am here to tell you now that as Mobius's glorified hero, you still have a duty to this world rather than to fool around irresponsibly during a time of crisis.

"What the fuck are you talking about Shadow?"

"You know dam well what I'm talking about, carrying around that fetus tank like it's nothing."

Under harsh whizzing, he barely manages to convey his argument.

"Shadow… I'm not pregnant."

"Not after that right hook you're not, I made sure of that. With that charisma you demonstrate in our encounters you had me fooled, It's far from lady like you know."

"I'm not a girl Shads, and I'm not pregnant! And if I even If I was, Why the fuck would you do that to an unborn child?" He gained some of his composure and turned it into protest.

"Because I care hedgehog, Because I care."

Yes, I can see those disbelief plastered faces through the screen over and you know dam well that I mean it!

 _ **If any of you guys got the reference in that then you are beautiful.**_

 _ **Also to those, who have taken an interest in this story so far, thank you and sorry for the wait. As you can see, this chapter is pretty big, bigger than I had needed it to be but It was necessary. I hope that you enjoy this. In this fanfic, I'm playing around with who shadow is, but I'm really just using this as an excuse to improve my writing style and try own POV. Shadow kinda matches my style because of his mental maturity so this works out. I'm not hating on shadow, I'm just thinking of the reality of his situation from being a criminal in a unique situation of house arrest and being a engineered purposed to perform mission assignments in low survival rate area.**_

 _ **I'm not really trying to fulfil anybody's expectations, I'm just letting the story be what it will be. If you happen to stick around long enough for that, then hopefully you can say that you had a good adventure in all of this. Have fun guys.**_


End file.
